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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

20 April - Blogs I'm Following

*By MARC McDONALD* I've always thought Bill Maher is one of the most astute observers of U.S. politics and society. But recently, he said something that I have to strongly disagree with: that, as bad a GOP nominee as Ted Cruz would be, he'd actually be preferable to Donald Trump. I suppose it's a moot point, as Hillary Clinton would likely defeat either candidate. But if I had to choose, I'd take Trump as president over Cruz any day. Trump is a bigot and he's said a lot of outrageous things on the campaign trail. But frankly, Cruz scares the hell out of me far more than Trump. If y...more »

Well Well Well.... it just keeps getting more and more interesting. As I reported two days ago in the "TN: Arch of Triumph" and the TN report "To Ba'al or not to Ba'al" we've reviewed all the Arch of Ba'al/Triumph details as they've come up. After publishing each of them I've wondered just how much more crazy this can get.... .... and I wasn't disappointed when last night I saw a picture of the "Arch of Triumph" in Trafalgar Square, London all lit up with bright red flood lights. This video was sent to me by a friend this morning. While I don't agree with the videographers reli...more »

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama (AFP Photo/Reuters) / Reuters *Washington Free Beacon*:* Report: Obama Seeks Meeting With Iranian President* President Barack Obama has sent two letters to senior Iranian leaders in recent months requesting a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, according to Persian language reports recently translated by a Middle East research organization. “President Obama asked to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in two secret letters sent in late March to both Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Presi...more »

[image: Flanked by supporters, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, second from left, celebrates after winning the New York primary election, Tuesday night, April 19, 2016, in New York.] NEW YORK (AP) -- Hillary Clinton can lose every remaining primary in the coming weeks and still clinch the nomination. With Clinton’s double-digit win in New York and more than two dozen new superdelegates joining her camp, rival Bernie Sanders...more »

One of the old stunts in a journalist's bag of tricks to get a party leader to criticize his own party. It's so old that even the slowest-witted of politicians usually know enough never to fall for it. But Dominic Cardy walked right into it as loudly and proudly as if he were leading a circus parade when he was questioned by the Irving press. Much of the press across Canada - and Maclean's Magazine - has been shedding crocodile tears over the quarrel within the NDP. But one should notice that not one of them has supported the NDP, not ever, not in its whole 50 plus years of existen...more »

[image: bernanke-helicopter] Central bankers are desperate. Since their 2008 bust, they’ve been pedalling ever since to keep their phoney-baloney money-creation-balls in the air, and only the headline writers have been convinced their stimulunacy has done anything better than simply stave off the inevitable. And now, with the central banks quietly creaking into “negative interest rate mode,” the signal of a virtual white flag for their failed economic theories, the only lever they have in their armoury left to pull is the simple one of printing money and giving it away. As Jus...more »

"The dark Horsehead Nebula and the glowing Orion Nebula are contrasting cosmic vistas. Adrift 1,500 light-years away in one of the night sky's most recognizable constellations, they appear in opposite corners of the above stunning mosaic. *Click image for larger size.* The familiar Horsehead nebula appears as a dark cloud, a small silhouette notched against the long red glow at the lower left. Alnitak is the easternmost star in Orion's belt and is seen as the brightest star to the left of the Horsehead. Below Alnitak is the Flame Nebula, with clouds of bright emission and dramatic ...more »

*"The Human Condition"* by Meanings of Life "Man remains largely unknown of himself. What are we, in our innermost recesses, behind our names and our conventional opinions? What are we behind the things we do in our lives, behind what we see in others and what others see in us, or even behind things science says we are? Is man the crazy being about whom Carl Gustav Jung spoke ironically, when he demanded a man to treat? Is man the Dr. Jerkyll that contains in himself a criminal Mister Hyde, and more than a personality, and contradictory feelings? Are we the result of our dreams, as...more »

*"Regret: The Weight of the Past"* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM "Holding onto regret is like dragging the weight of the past with us everywhere we go. It drains our energy, leaving less available for life in the present because we are constantly feeding an old issue. This attachment can cause illness the same way watering a dead plant creates decay. We know that something new and beautiful can grow in its place if we only prepare the soil and plant the right seeds. We also know that we create our lives from our thoughts, so dwelling on the past may actually recreate a situation i...more »

* "Flare, Part 12"* "When loneliness comes stalking, go into the fields, consider the orderliness of the world. Notice something you have never noticed before, like the tambourine sound of the snow-cricket whose pale green body is no longer than your thumb. Stare hard at the hummingbird, in the summer rain, shaking the water-sparks from its wings. Let grief be your sister, she will whether or no. Rise up from the stump of sorrow, and be green also, like the diligent leaves. A lifetime isn't long enough for the beauty of this world and the responsibilities of your life. Scatter your f...more »

*"'A Dog’s Prayer" Will Leave You In Tears"* By Paul Morris "Dogs are perfect angels who have been put on Earth in order to show us that there really is such a thing as goodness in this beautiful world. With all of the wars, and hatred, it’s our lovable best friends who will always be around to kiss us and love us whenever we’re feeling down. A dog doesn’t judge you based on how much money you have, or what kind of car you drive, or what clothes you wear; a dog loves you unconditionally. The only thing that’s bad about dogs is that for us, they’re there for a small portion of our ...more »

Smoke rises after an airstrike in the rebel held area of old Aleppo, Syria April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail/File Photo *The Economist:* *Syria’s peace talks and partial ceasefire are both breaking down* *A suffering country drifts back into war* HOW long is a piece of string? That is about as good an answer as there is to the question of when the partial “cessation of hostilities” in Syria will be deemed to have been broken. The fighting has abated to a surprising and welcome degree since the ceasefire came into force on February 27th; but violations are now on the increa...more »

I may be mistaken, but I haven’t seen anyone so far ask the obvious question about the management contract allegedly gifted by the McCully-appointed Niue Tourism Property Trust to Earl Hagaman’s Scenic Hotel Group just after Hagaman had made a substantial donation to the National Party. That very obvious question is this: why is the NZ Government (or a NZ-government appointed board) in any position to granting management contracts for hotels in Niue? Indeed, why is the government in the position of granting management contracts anywhere, ever, at all. Yes, yes, the obious ans...more »

*"Chinese Quietly DIVESTING from US Stocks & Equities"* What do foreigners know that Americans do not? Post by U.S.Reporter "The Chinese move, ranging from individual investors to corporate entities, into overseas real estate, particularly in West Coast cities in the US, in Vancouver and Toronto in Canada, but also in trophy cities in Australia, New Zealand, and some other countries, has become legendary. More recently, Chinese companies, supported by state-owned banks and PE firms, have pushed into global M&A on a large scale, including in the US, buying companies lock, stock, a...more »

Pete Souza/White House *Maajid Nawaz, The Hill:* *Obama in Saudi Arabia: What Do These Oil Sheikhs Have to Hide?* A look at the Panama Papers revelations shows how insecure the Middle East’s absolute leaders have become. LONDON — On Thursday, President Barack Obama will meet with the kings and emirs of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Saudi Arabia. And of the many things they may talk about (Iran, Syria, Yemen, al Qaeda, and ISIS, not to mention oil prices and the efforts by U.S. lawyers and politicians to blame the 9/11 attacks on the Riyadh royals), it’s doubtful they will do muc...more »

I don't know if Anthony Clark reads *DWT* or not. He's an author and the former legislative assistant for Congressman Lacy Clay (D-MO). He responded to a tweet of mine yesterday implying that Obama's coddling of the Saudi murderers may have something to do with a quest for funds for his presidential library. I don't know if that's actually something Obama is doing. But I do know that he's been endorsing conservative candidates in Senate races tied to funds for his library. How do I know? A top Biden staffer was dismayed enough to mention it. I was dismayed enough myself to hav...more »

Explosive new evidence has been released that directly connects the Saudi Arabia government to the 9/11 terror attacks, on the day that President Barack Obama arrived in Riyadh for an awkward meeting with the Saudi regime. The flight certificate belonging to Al-Qaeda bomb maker Ghassan Al-Sharbi has been discovered secretly hidden away in an envelope inside the Saudi embassy in Washington. The document, discovered by the FBI, offers compelling evidence that Saudi Arabia were involved in the orchestration of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Dailymail.co.uk reports: They were only ...more »

Traces of mercury have been detected in the fog around San Fransisco, with some experts claiming that the toxic metal may have originated from chemtrails being sprayed over the city. Mercury is a highly toxic poison which can cause mental issues such as depression and anxiety due to chemical imbalances in the brain as a result of exposure. Dcclothesline.com reports: Once again the mainstream media’s explanation for an important revelation might be lacking. However, that explanation is really just a translation of research from the University of California, Santa Cruz. An article fr...more »

President Obama has announced that Saudi Arabia will be held fully accountable for any potential crimes they committed on 9/11, saying that the Saudi regime are not immune to prosecution. The classified pages of the 9/11 Commission report will “hopefully” be released soon, he said, but urged caution in pursuing legal action until all of the facts are known. RT.com reports: Obama, who flew to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, discussed in an interview with Charlie Rose his relationship with the Saudi regime and the controversially-classified 28 pages of the report, which some believe contain...more »

A 75-year-old disabled veteran has been sentenced to death due to a mandatory sentence involving marijuana possession. Lee Carroll Brooker grew marijuana plants in his son’s backyard in Alabama for his own medical use. When Alabama officials found out, they arrested Brooker, and sent him to prison for life without the possibility for parole. Vox.com reports: How did this happen? Jesse Wegman explained for the New York Times: [Brooker] said the plants were for his own medicinal use only — he suffers from multiple chronic ailments — and prosecutors did not dispute that. Remarkably, t...more »

A worrying swarm of earthquakes have broken out near the Yellowstone supervolcano, near Virginia City Montana and Hebgen Lake. Scientists have warned that the earthquakes pose a significant risk of acting as a catalyst to something much bigger. Marygreeley.com reports: Hebgen lake is the location of the largest earthquake to strike the Intermountain West in recorded history, with a M7.5 showing up in 1959. The swarm is being caused by pressure coming from the West coast. No doubt the pressure is building off the coast, now pushing the craton edge to the East, causing a swarm at Yel...more »

Putin has announced that Russia is gearing up to take “all necessary (military) measures” to counter NATO aggression, and will not hesitate to use military force against incidents of “intimidation” such as the US naval destroyer that recently sailed close to the Russian border. Russia’s NATO Ambassador Alexander Grushko warned participants at a meeting of the military alliance, “This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia. We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force“. Presstv.com reports: On April 11, th...more »

Today is Hitler's birthday. Born in 1889, that would now make him 127. There will still be people who claim that he ran away to South America or lives in a secret base in Antarctica, but that is perhaps the least bizarre aspect of the obsession with the Austrian politician. Hitler's place in history is one of significance because he is hailed by some and hated by others. A politician who died (or at least left the public arena) in 1945 (72 years ago), but is still talked about as if he was alive, is quite something. But why? For globalisers and multicultists, Hitler is a figure o...more »

*CawRANT Events #23 * Canada hints it may join US missile shield to ‘enhance national security’ *https://www.rt.com/news/340349-missile-shield-canada-usa/* *"Would a shift in policy in this area enhance Canadian national security and offer an avenue for greater continental cooperation?”* Sajjan said, as cited by Defense News. *“Or are there more effective areas in which to invest to better protect the North American continent?" *However, Sajjan added that the public and experts would be consulted regarding the issue, which has been sidelined since 2005, when the then-Prime Minis...more »

The U.S. government are gearing up for potential mass civil unrest across the United States by purchasing military-style riot gear for police departments across the country. According to Sandler Research, the demand for surveillance drones and riot gear to “handle large crowds and demonstrations (protests)” has risen significantly. Patriotrising.com reports: Riot control systems are expected to “generate revenues of over USD 3.5 billion by the end of 2020,” with North America being one of the primary growth areas for upgraded weapons due to “militarization of the police department ...more »

McDonalds have been fined $341 million dollars (300 million euros) for unpaid taxes in France after French authorities discovered that the fast food corporation had funnelled cash through Luxembourg and Switzerland as part of a huge tax avoidance scheme. French authorities have accused the fast food giant of taking advantage of a Luxembourg-based entity, McD Europe Franchising, in order to dump their profits and fool the government. Reuters.com reports: McDonald’s France declined to comment on developments in the ongoing French tax investigation, first reported in 2014. “McDonald’s...more »

Response: The Saudi Arabian government said it had nothing whatsoever to do with the September 11 attacks *Nancy Yousseff & Shane Harris, Daily Beast: **Pentagon: Don’t Sue the Saudis for 9/11* *They may have promoted al Qaeda’s poisonous ideology. But Saudi Arabia is too valuable an ally against today’s terrorism to allow ordinary Americans to make the kingdom pay.* There’s a major push in Congress right now for a bill that could hold the government of Saudi Arabia legally responsible for the 9/11 attacks. U.S. military and counterterrorism officials now leading the fights agains...more »

[image: In a June 21, 1971 file photo, Louis Armstrong practices with his horn at his Corona, New York home. The Louis Armstrong House Museum announced Wednesday, April 20, 2016, that it has acquired the only known film footage of the great jazz musician in a recording studio. While many audio recordings of Armstrong's music exist there has been no video of him working in a recording studio until now.] NEW YORK (AP) -- The Louis Armstrong House Museum has acquired the only known film footage of the great jazz musician in a recording studio -- following its discovery in a storage faci...more »

U.S. President Barack Obama and Saudi King Salman after meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Kevin Lemarque / Reuters *Peter Beinart, The Atlantic*: *Why Obama Should Veto the Saudi 9/11 Bill* It would be satisfying to watch terror victims haul billionaire princes into court. But what about the consequences? Bipartisanship has become so rare in Washington that pundits risk forgetting how lousy it can be. In 1964, Democrats and Republicans came together to overwhelmingly pass the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which authorized Lyndon Johnson to use force in Vietnam. The Defense of Marriage Ac...more »

*CNN:* *As many as 500 migrants drowned in Mediterranean, agency says* (CNN)As many as 500 migrants may have died when a large ship sank in the Mediterranean last week between Libya and Italy, the United Nations refugee agency said Wednesday. On Tuesday, a U.N. team interviewed survivors of what could be one of the worst tragedies involving refugees and migrants in the last 12 months. The 41 survivors -- 37 men, three women and a 3-year-old child -- were rescued by a merchant ship Saturday and taken to Kalamata, Greece. Those rescued include 23 Somalis, 11 Ethiopians, 6 Egyptians ...more »

*Bloomberg:* *NATO Rebukes Russia Over Ukraine, `Dangerous' Armed Behavior* * U.S.-led alliance demands more Kremlin openness over war games * First meeting in two years replays tensions of the last one NATO scolded Russia for aggressive behavior that undermines Ukraine and magnifies the risk of accidental military confrontations elsewhere in Europe. The first meeting of the two sides since June 2014 was conducted in the same spirit as the last one, with the U.S.-led alliance warning that Russia is tearing up the post-Cold War map and the Kremlin standing its ground. “NATO and Rus...more »

Lockheed Martin *The Hill:* *Congress looks into restarting the F-22 Raptor* Congress is looking into restarting production of the F-22 fighter jet, according to a defense bill proposal released Tuesday. The House Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee released its portion of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which included a provision to look into restarting production of the stealthy fifth-generation fighter jet. Production of the F-22 ended in 2009, at 187 aircraft — far less than the planned buy of 749, and an Air Combat Command requirement of 381 aircraft. Ho...more »

Cornered rat?Philip Zelikow, a self-described expert in "the creation and maintenance of public myths," wrote the 9/11 Commission Report in chapter outline before the Commission even convened. Zelikow, architect of the Bush Doctrine of framing criminal wars of aggression as "pre-emptive wars," is the co-author of an astonishingly precognitive 1998 Foreign Affairs article speculating about the likely political and cultural consequences of a massive Pearl Harbor style event such as the destruction of the World Trade Center – a catastrophe that, he said, would split time into a dimly-...more »

[image: An Israeli police officer examines a burned bus in Jerusalem, Monday, April 18, 2016. A bus exploded in the heart of Jerusalem Monday wounding at least 15 people who appeared to have been in an adjacent bus that was also damaged. The explosion raised fears of a return to the Palestinian suicide attacks that ravaged Israeli cities a decade ago.] It is significant and disturbing that the most prominent Jewish presidential candidate in our nation's history is also one of our loudest critics of Israel. So, while I'm feeling the burn for Bernie, it's the burn of indignation, espec...more »

A new pop-up restaurant is to open in London this summer offering a truly liberating dinning experience where wearing clothes would be optional. Diners will enjoy a night out without any impurities: no chemicals, no artificial colors, no electricity, no gas, no phone and no clothes. International Business Times reports: The Bunyadi is set to open for three months from June 2016, with tickets available to would-be diners on a first-come first-serve basis. However, the nudity is non-compulsory, with two distinctive sections being planned – a “pure” section – or a naked, to be precise...more »

My holiday reading this year is Simon Sebag Montefiore's mighty tome *Jerusalem*. So this item from Radio 4's* Sunday* was right up my street... *William Crawley*: It's been known for many years that the historic site regarded by many as the tomb of Jesus is in serious need of restoration. It lies at the heart of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, but renovation work has been delayed for decades because of squabbles between the Catholic, Armenian, Greek Orthodox and other denominations who run the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Now, finally, an agreement has been reached...more »

*"A World War Has Begun. Break the Silence"* By John Pilger "I have been filming in the Marshall Islands, which lie north of Australia, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Whenever I tell people where I have been, they ask, "Where is that?" If I offer a clue by referring to "Bikini", they say, "You mean the swimsuit." Few seem aware that the bikini swimsuit was named to celebrate the nuclear explosions that destroyed Bikini island. Sixty-six nuclear devices were exploded by the United States in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958- the equivalent of 1.6 Hiroshima bombs every ...more »

[image: Volkswagen, VW Emissions Scandal] DETROIT (AP) -- A person briefed on the matter says Volkswagen has reached an agreement with the U.S. government to spend just over $1 billion to compensate owners of diesel-powered cars that cheat on emissions tests. The person says it’s...more »

See Breitbart, the noxious US import that has kept James Delingpole's career on life support? You can? Okay. Now imagine taking the Breitbart concept: unhinged right-wingery, stupidity, and dishonesty, and sticking it in the food processor. Get a face, say Louise Mensch, to front it up. And then people said product with content too dumb and churnalists too lazy for Breitbart. The end result is the political comment equivalent of what my cat has just visited upon her litter tray. Heatstreet is Murdoch's latest go at being "relevant" to the tech-hungry, celeb-bothering, video-gamin' ...more »

*"Confessions Of A Panama Papers Hit Man"* by John Perkins "As an Economic Hit Man (EHM) in the 1970s I spent a great deal of time in Panama. I hate to admit it, but I helped forge the system that has now been exposed in the Panama Papers. It is a system of legalized crimes. How else can we describe it? This EHM system has created a global economy where 62 individuals have as much wealth as half the world’s population, big corporations enjoy the airports and highways, fire and police departments, school systems, and other infrastructure of countries like the United States without p...more »

[image: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prepares to speak during a New York primary night campaign event Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in New York.] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on campaign 2016 following the New York state primary (all times Eastern Daylight Time): 4:11 p.m. Donald Trump is basking in the glow of his New York victory as he campaigns in Indianapolis on Wednesday....more »

Short version: if there was nothing significant in the paid speeches she would have published the transcripts when she first said several months ago that she would think about it. The chances she made a Romney-like remark indicating the disdain and contempt her class feels towards working people is virtually certain. Yesterday the twitter Hill-bots were mindlessly regurgitating the ugly, anti-working class rhetoric of far right commentator Katie Pavich. Does anyone think the Republicans don't have tapes of those Wall Street speeches and are just waiting for her to win the nominati...more »

If Robert F. Williams could speak to Black Lives Matter militants, he might remind them of this central problem in any organized liberation struggle... the problem of the supported network of collaborators. "I learned in Atlanta that Mr. Elijah Muhammed had made quite an impression and that many Afro-Americans are learning, to the consternation and embarrassment of the black respectable

For a bit of light relief (and I certainly need some)...and going back for a second to my favourite hobby-horse, Radio 4's *Sunday*... The programme conducted a short 'Is it Shakespeare or is the Bible?' test in the light of the claim that Shakespeare's primary Biblical influences were *Genesis, Job *and *Psalms, *plus (of course) the New Testament "with which many of his lines can easily be confused". The poor lady they tested kept getting it wrong - and, in fairness to her, I can't say I got 100% either. Can *you* score 100%? So: Is it Shakespeare or is the Bible? 1. A man afte...more »

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's King Salman at the start of a bilateral meeting at Erga Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2015 Reuters *Daily Mail*:* How can Obama break bread with him? President meets with Saudi ruler after fresh evidence emerges linking Arab kingdom with 9/11 attacks* * Terrorist certificate placed in envelope from Saudi embassy in Washington * Details sparked concerns government may have links to the terror attacks * Relations between US and Saudi are at a low point, with Obama snubbed by the King as he arrived at Riyadh airport * Obama...more »

‘Snapchat has caused outrage among Bob Marley fans. The messaging app introduced a new feature on “National Weed Day” by allowing users to create an instant “Digital Blackface” of themselves to resemble reggae legend Bob Marley who was an avid weed smoker till his untimely death at the age of 36 from cancer. The Jamaican born Rastafarian was one of music’s all time greats who used weed for spiritual enlightenment that reflected in his work, making him one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time with over 75 million records sold worldwide. High Times reports: Many took to Tw...more »

A strong magnitude 6.2 aftershock hit Ecuador’s already devastated Pacific coast before dawn on Wednesday. The tremor saw shaken residents pouring once again into the streets, fearful of yet more damage following the deadly 7.8 earthquake at the weekend. The latest big tremor, which followed several hundred aftershocks from Saturdays quake, hit 25 km (15 miles) off the island of Muisne on the northwest coast at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. Yahoo News reports: It was the strongest aftershock yet following Saturday’s magnitude-7.8 quake that killed more...more »

As part of this blog's mission to inform, educate and entertain, here's something I learned from this week's *Sunday* (and which I've been holding onto)... Liz Leonard [BBC reporter, BBC producer then BBC manager (1993-2009), then director of her own media company and vice chair of the Scottish Refugee Council] presented a report for this week's *Sunday* on the results of a Scottish Social Attitudes survey on religious belief in Scotland. The results were startling: 52% of Scots describe themselves as "having no religion", lower than any of the UK's other nations. Strikingly, i...more »

[image: baby in womb - 900] “Babies are not the sum of their body parts,” U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) told the House’s Select Panel on Infant Lives today in a hearing focused on the sales of baby parts for profit. “Babies are not meant to...more »

Found on the Saskatchewan Pro Life website (bold mine): *Canada Silent No More needs Testimonies.* URGENT: We are collecting testimony declarations from women who have been hurt or damaged physically, emotionally or who got breast cancer, cervical damage, had a subsequent pre-term birth, infertility, suffered depression, turned to alcohol and drugs, had suicidal thoughts or attempts etc? We want to hear from you. We are looking for brave and courageous women to *testify to the Supreme Court of Canada on how legal abortion has hurt them.* You are not alone. If you know any former abo...more »

*FOX News:* *Obama arrives in Saudi Arabia amid tense times between the nations* President Obama began his Saudi Arabia trip on Wednesday with a one-on-one meeting with King Salman amid growing tensions between Washington and Riyadh over what appears to be a shrinking U.S. footprint in the region. The Saudi monarch greeted Obama at Erga Palace, where the two walked slowly to a reception room as the smell of incense wafted in the air. The two offered polite smiles as they sat down side by side for pictures at the start of their private meeting. "The American people send their gree...more »

*the Solar Eye of the Electric Storm* you may, you may not have seen this presentation before, I think I have but it still interested me again on re-viewing - watch, listen. Then wonder why the 'standard model(s)' of the nuclear solar dynamic is still being hammering into our heads in schools and colleges all over the world. Might have something to do with plasma-discharge Tesla-like Free Energy that Big Oil i.e. The Slave Industry, is keeping from us so that we'll continue to pay through our noses for extortionate fossil fuels (if that's what they even are).

A top Israeli military leader issued a warning to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Wednesday, saying any future war between the two enemies will unleash “devastating” damage on Lebanon. Yahoo News reports: Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, Israel’s deputy chief of staff, told foreign journalists that Hezbollah has developed capabilities that present “unprecedented” threats to Israel. Israel estimates the group has over 100,000 rockets and missiles in its arsenal. Golan said any future war will be “much harsher” than anything experienced in the past 20 years. “In any future crisis, they a...more »

[image: Dr. Eric Walsh] A pastor filed suit against the Georgia Department of Public Health Wednesday, accusing the agency of religious discrimination after officials allegedly fired the man because of his sermons, which called homosexuality a sin. Dr. Eric Walsh worked as the director of...more »

[image: ESPN analyst and former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling joins Conan O'Brien on Conan in February of 2012.] BOSTON (AP) -- ESPN analyst and former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is defending himself after making comments on Facebook about transgender people. Schilling this week reposted an image of an overweight man wearing a long blond wig and...more »

[image: Harriet Tubman 20 Dollar bill - 900] WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Treasury official says Secretary Jacob Lew has decided to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, making her the first woman on U.S. paper currency in 100 years. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity...more »

Journals have retracted two papers after realizing that they contain “nearly identical” abstracts and introductions, published only months apart. The two retracted papers, along with a third that also contains similar text, all conclude that a certain polymorphism could signal a risk for coronary artery disease among Chinese people, though each paper presents different data. […] The post Journals retract two heart papers with “nearly identical” abstracts appeared first on Retraction Watch.

I taped my 131st public access TV program (*This Issue*) today with guest Lisa Savage from Solon, Maine. Lisa is one of the great activists in our state, and a high school teacher as well, so it was fun to have her on the show. She's very articulate and knows how to say alot in a short period of time which makes her a perfect guest. Lisa has recently created a new group called the Maine Natural Guard. She's put a pledge on the web site asking people to promise they will make the connections between climate change and the fact that the Pentagon has the largest carbon bootprint o...more »

There's a delicious, savage irony to Jack Lew announcing today that Harriet Tubman, who once staged a lengthy sit in for $20, will be replacing Andrew Jackson on the 20 dollar bill. Most people are all for the idea that an African American and the first woman in a century will be getting their face on US currency for the first time. Naturally, not all are on board with it and, gee, they tend to be Christian libertarian "patriots" who aren't too thrilled with the fact that an old white slave-owning southern man who subjugated people of color is being replaced with a female black...more »

*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016What you have and haven't been told about what happened in Flint:* For the record, we're pretty much never happy to hear that people have gotten in trouble. We don't root for people to be harmed. We leave that to our massively overpaid, corporate "cable news" stars. That said, the first criminal charges have now been filed concerning events in Flint. As we read about these charges, we thought about what you have and haven't heard about what happened in Flint. For ourselves, we don't know what happened in Flint. In large part, we don't know what happened ...more »

David Keighley's new piece at *The Conservative Woman *is well worth a read (if you've not already read it). I feel his pain when it coming to monitoring the BBC's output. His *News-watch *site decided to monitor a huge swathe of the BBC's output on Monday (from *BBC Breakfast *and *Today* to *Newsnight*), timed for George Osborne's 'killer' Treasury report. The resultant transcripts came to 36,000 words - an amount David describes as "boggling"! The BBC is such a behemoth it's always going to be "boggling" to monitor - unless you have the necessary time and resources (and who has...more »

IKEA has repeated its safety warnings to customers after a third child was crushed to death by its popular Malm range of drawers and bedroom furniture. The company first issued a warning back in July after two children were killed when drawers and wardrobes fell on them. Wales Online reports: The victims, aged two and 23 months, were killed when dressers purchased from the store fell on them, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said. Now a third child has been killed in America after an accident involving a set of drawers from the range, the Manchester Evening News repo...more »

Not good to hear that Victoria Wood died today, aged 62, of cancer. I liked Victoria Wood. Plus she lived in Morecambe for many a year, so I liked her even more. Here's a Victoria Wood joke: *TV Announcer: 'We'd like to apologize to our viewers in the north. It must be awful for them'.*

*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016New York Times does it again:* On November 3, 1948, the Chicago Daily Tribune made itself eternally famous. It did so by bungling a front-page headline. DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN, the famous headline said. This morning, the New York Times decided to get in the act. When we arrived at the coffee joint, we scanned the front page of our hard-copy Times. Above the featured front-page report, here's what the headlines said: TRUMP LANDSLIDE GIVES CRUCIAL LIFT IN DELEGATE LEAD Regains Control of Race for G.O.P.— Clinton and Sanders in Tight Race You can't blame rep...more »

[image: NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 17: Donald Trump speaks at a press conference for the New York Vetrens Police Association at the Hilton Garden Inn on April 17, 2016 in Staten Island New York City.] Trump’s decisive win Tuesday in his home state of New York makes a contested GOP convention a bit less likely, but there’s still a solid chance that he won’t win a majority of the delegates during the primaries, and the...more »

Japan's industry ministry is promoting releasing diluted radioactive tritium into the sea: Dumping tritium from Fukushima into sea is best option: ministry THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, April 20, 2016 at 14:55 http:// www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201604200041.html The industry ministry concluded that releasing diluted radioactive tritium into the sea is the most feasible option in dealing with contaminated water accumulating at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Earthquakes continue in Kyushu but Japan isn't going to shut down the Sendai nuclear power plant in the region: "Strong qu...more »

Doubters of the "global warming" alarmism (driven as it is by incompetent and criminal "leaders" in both science and politics today--as they are, figuratively speaking, shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre, when they know not only that they are deliberately trying to panic the world, but that there is no "fire", at all) need to begin to stand firm, not just against the alarmists, but also against the "lukewarmers" who make up the large majority of the critics of the alarmism. They misdirect their energies, and those of their followers (such as habitual readers of their blogs), by r...more »

My (limited) Twitter timeline today has been full of understandable horror that the National Union of Students (in a very depressing sign of the times) has elected Malia Bouattia as its new president. (Sue has had something to say about her previously): That last tweet doubtless relates to the predictably politically-correct headline on the BBC News website home page, which some BBC hack clearly thought was the main angle to the story: In fairness, the BBC article itself (and its revised headline) is much better, and - checking NewsSniffer - it started out as follows (before ...more »

In the 2008 New York primary Obama won only one county out of 64 in Clinton’s “home state” of New York; this time, Bernie Sanders took 50 counties to Hillary's 12. (See map above.) We turned to CNN last night just after the polls closed in New York at 9:00 pm and heard the report that exit polls (normally considered reliable) were reporting that Clinton won the race 52% to 48% - a four percent margin. Anything that close would be considered a 'Yuge' loss for Clinton. But then later we learned that Clinton 'won' the primary by a margin of 57.9% for her to 42.1% to Sanders. Indeed...more »

Comment on “A Union Firebrand Speaks Out On Politics, Testing And More” NPR interview with Lily Eskelsen Garcia: Testing every day? Posted at http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/04/20/474369584/a-union-firebrand-speaks-out-on-politics-testing-and-more The new education law does indeed appear an attempt to calm down our national testing hysteria. Even President Obama has spoken out about the negative impact of over-testing. Some of this is of course due to the impact of the opt-out movement. But the testing industry is striking back, with the full cooperation of the US governme...more »

[image: bathroom - 900] A Trump hotel in Dubai found itself in the spotlight Monday over a video allegedly showing migrant workers living in horrific conditions. The Trump International Golf Club in Dubai is one of many hotels worldwide belonging to the Trump real...more »

[image: Libya Italy Mediterranean Sea Shipwreck - 900] GENEVA (AP) -- Up to 500 people are feared dead after a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea last week, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday, citing the accounts of survivors. The disaster happened in waters between Italy and Libya, based...more »

[image: Intel - 900] One of the top users of foreign workers imported via the H-1B visa program announced Tuesday it's laying off about ten percent of its global workforce. Tech giant Intel is laying off some 12,000 workers, although it's one of the country's 15...more »

A fire broke out at the Idomeni refugee camp in Diavata, northern Greece on Wednesday, burning tents and causing panic. Several refugees were treated for smoke inhalation before the fire was put out. Sigma Live reports: Just over 2,300 refugees live at the camp, which is located near Thessaloinki. Local residents protested against the construction of the camp in February, which is housed on a former military site. “We are not racists, we are not fascists, we just want to keep our place safe,” the demonstrators chanted at the time. Around 54,000 refugees and migrants have been strand...more »

*Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. ​Not a Sanders fan. (Manufactured image, but speaks the truth; source) * This may not seem like a big deal, but it could very well turn out to matter in California, home to a large Arab-American community, just as it may have helped turned the tide in Michigan. Scholar Juan Cole has the story (my emphasis): *Arab-Americans, including ‘Watan’ Newspaper, Endorse Bernie Sanders* Many Arab-Americans want the Jewish candidate to be president. The prominent Arabic-language newspaper for that community in Southern California, Watan (“A Nation”), has end...more »

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees have said that up to 500 people may have drowned following a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea at the weekend. The Globe and Mail reports: The disaster happened in waters between Italy and Libya, based on accounts from 41 survivors who were rescued on April 16 by a merchant ship, UNHCR said. The agency said that if confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest tragedies on the Mediterranean in the last year. The survivors said they had been among 100 to 200 people who left a town near Tobruk, Libya, on a smugglers’ boat last week. The a...more »

A new book claims that Paralympic gold medalist and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius may have battered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp with a cricket bat before shooting her dead and covering the evidence. The “Blade Runner,” the fastest man on no legs, is to be sentenced in June for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp after his initial conviction of culpable homicide was later upgraded by the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. Metro reports: The court heard how the amputee had fired four hollow point bullets through a toilet door striking his victim in the hip, head and arm. Pisto...more »

*besides torture yourself with a bunch of political crapola over which you have absolutely no control? * Julia Cameron's new book released yesterday, *It's Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond,* will be in my mail box today. I'm such a fan of hers that I pre-ordered her newest book, something I rarely do. Her book, *The Artist's Way,* remains a classic and one I turn to often for inspiration. It goes hand in hand with this article by Mark Sisson *Why Hobbies Are an Important Part of Primal Living* “So, what do you do?” We’ve hea...more »

[image: Taming Shrew] This weekend I learned first-hand that The Taming of the Shrew is not a good choice for a date movie. My girlfriend and I settled in at an arthouse theater for a Saturday afternoon screening of the lavish 1967 adaptation,...more »

By Paul Homewood https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222661107_The_regime_shift_of_the_1920s_and_1930s_in_the_North_Atlantic The warming of the Arctic in the 1920s and 30s is well documented, despite attempts to wipe it from the temperature record. But it is always good to come across another paper, even though this one dates back to 2006. ABSTRACT During the 1920s and 1930s, there was […]

The US Supreme Court has upheld a judgment allowing families of victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism to collect nearly $2 billion in compensation. The court ruled 6-2 in favor of relatives of the 241 Marines who died in a 1983 terrorist attack in Beirut and victims of other attacks that the courts also linked to Tehran. The issue however, is not whether Iran should pay, but whether Congress has infringed upon the territory of the judiciary by essentially awarding damages. RT reports: On Wednesday, the court ruled that Congress had acted within its powers when it passed a law in 201...more »

The author of a paper “under editorial review” at the Journal of the American Chemical Society has told us the results the paper have been replicated, contrary to claims made by a former member of her lab. What’s more, the author said she has submitted a correction to the paper, which is currently flagged with an expression […] The post JACS imaging paper “under editorial review” has been replicated, says author appeared first on Retraction Watch.

*WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016Part 3—Loathing in the past tense:* On Tuesday, April 12, a certain major "cable news" star returned to her eponymous program after a day of rest. She fronted the cable news show for each of the next four nights. The masterful dumbness of her work now belongs to the ages. How dumb was the cable star's work on those time-wasting, dumb-dealing programs? Consider the way she started her week on last Tuesday night's program. First, a quick bit of background. As the cable star began her mugging, a trivial event had occurred. This trivial event involved Phyll...more »

[image: Justice against Department of Education - 900] A former Colorado State University-Pueblo (CSUP) student launched a daring lawsuit against the Obama administration Tuesday, claiming illegal Department of Education policies resulted in him being kicked out of school for sexual assault, despite an incredibly weak case against him. Grant...more »

[image: A French soldier salutes during a ceremony honoring the lives of the American pilots who volunteered to fight for France during World War I, in Marne la Coquette, outside Paris, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The commemoration, which is due to include a fly-by featuring French fighter jets, an American bomber and a biplane, marks the centenary of the formation of the Lafayette Escadrille on April 20, 1916 _ almost a full year before the U.S. entered the war. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)] MARNES-LA-COQUETTE, France (AP) -- A parade of jets and vintage aircraft roared across the sky o...more »

The British comedian Victoria Wood passed away after a short battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her family, her publicist Neil Reading confirmed saying: “The multi Bafta award-winning writer, director, actor and comedian died peacefully at her north London home with family this morning. She was 62. The family ask for privacy at this very sad time.” Victoria who was born in Prestwich, Lancashire started her career in 1974 when she won the ATV talent show New Faces. It was in the 80s that Victoria secured her place as one of Britain’s most popular standup comics, with shows suc...more »

*I've stated many, many times that cheering for the Kurdish militias was cheering for ISIS and cheering for terrorists*- *And I've amply demonstrated the connection, time and time again, including on April 12/2016 in the post KurdIShIS: Face the Reality/Discard the Perception Managing Fiction So for all the terrorist cheerleaders out there and you all know who you are... * * Thanks for supporting NATO terrorism. Israeli expansion. Destabilization and Ethnic Cleansing! You've done your masters bidding well. Even though there was ample information available that should have stopped y...more »

[image: Chaffetz - 900] Federal health officials refuse to give Congress hundreds of subpoenaed documents on Obamacare's failed co-ops so that people will continue enrolling in the deeply troubled program, a congressional leader said Tuesday. Twelve of the 23 co-ops created in 2011 under...more »

[image: Planned Parenthood StemExpress Cate Dyer__1440243638_70.119.142.63] House Republicans claim they have solid proof that an abortion provider and a fetal tissue company broke the law by profiting from the sale of fetal tissue. A report documenting the baby body parts money trail will be presented at...more »

China has successfully tested it’s newest and longest range intercontinental ballistic missile amid heightened tensions with the US over the South China Sea. The missile is capable of striking the United States in around 30 minutes, either through a polar trajectory or over the Pacific. RT reports: The launch of China’s Dongfeng-41 (East Wind, DF-41) missile was registered by the US satellite tracking system in real time, the Washington Free Beacon reports, although the location of the launch was not immediately revealed. The launch was made from a new road-mobile platform, and is r...more »

The United States has once again upped its participation in the war in Iraq for the second time in two months. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter was in Baghdad and announced a troop increase and greater participation. More trainers and artillery were being sent, Apache helicopters would have a bigger role, and the Kurds were getting financial help as well. In March2016 the U.S. sent marines covertly to Ninewa. The new force was called a temporary deployment to keep them off the books, but they pushed the American military presence in the country to over 5,000. The marines opened up...more »

Norm Scott has a post up about the special platform that NPE provided the corporate unions to propagandize all the NPE-attending autograph seekers, book salesmen, union apologists, blogger celebrities, button collectors, self-proclaimed activists. Half-way through Norm's piece, his ire and consternation at sitting through this bit of bad theater without a chance to ask questions is soothed by his conversation with Leonie Haimson, whose formidable prowess of the protector of the Ravitch myth is exercised with hypnotic power, obviously, on Norm's hot head. Calmly, then, Norm concl...more »

[image: FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2016, file photo, women run as the sun sets in San Diego. Life expectancy for white women has fallen a little, according to a new government report. The dip is small - white women lost about five weeks from their predicted lifespan in 2014, compared to 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)] NEW YORK (AP) -- Life expectancy for white women has fallen a little, according to a new government report. White women lost about five weeks from their predicted lifespan in 2014, comp...more »

Japan's Parliament is debating the TPP this week. But our Congress isn't. For all the GOP bullshit about letting the voters decide who the next Supreme Court just will be, they certainly have no intention of letting the voters decide who their next congressmembers will be based on a TPP vote. The strategy for thwarting the voters-- rigging the system, if you will-- is to keep it as quiet as you can and then vote on it after the election, probably during the lame duck session so that defeated members have been bribed and blackmailed into supporting it. Besides, congressmembers alwa...more »

*“We Are Living In an Environment Where Nothing Is Real- Gregory Mannarino”* Biggest Financial Bubble in History Will Engulf World by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com "Financial analyst and stock trader Gregory Mannarino says pay no attention to the rising stock market because it is “fake.” Mannarino says, “The manipulation is absolutely epic. We have never seen anything like it. There is going to be a horrible price to pay for this. Why? Because it will correct to fair market value. There is no doubt in my mind that all of this will correct to fair value. All these distortions can only...more »

“Always keep in mind, that no matter what has happened, you did the very best you could. And so did those who may have let you down.” “Great Love,” The Universe “Thoughts become things... choose the good ones!” - www.tut.com

Local residents are reporting a marked increase in serious birth defects five years after the nuclear accident at Fukushima. There are reports of a surge of babies are being born with extra arms and legs, a high rise in the numbers of still births and many are also reporting an increase in cancers, both near and far away from Fukushima. But due to a continuous coverup by Japanese authorities and the media, along with a severe lack of scientific studies being performed, very little information on the subject is reaching the public. Natural News reports: A February, 2016 broadcast on L...more »

[image: faith - 900] Most Americans say they believe in God. Around the world, religious Jews, Christians and Muslims say they believe in God, as do many people who do not identify with any formal religion. But this statement is actually meaningless. To cite...more »

[image: old science equipment - 900] There’s been a spate of lamentations that science is broken (here, here, here, here). I am a credentialed, working scientist, and I’m here to tell you that, with some exceptions, these cris de coeur are right. Science is a mess....more »

[image: Teamwork, Collaboration, People, Diversity] The University of Tennessee's Office for Diversity and Inclusion could be on its way out, as the state's House of Representatives has approved a bill that would gut its funding. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Micah Van Huss, was inspired by...more »

*White Privilege Conference Wants Less Responsibility, Accountability* *Somehow overlooked is that the most privileged people in America are brown. Indians (from India) have the highest average income of any ethnic group* “We do see you, Super-Whitey. We’re coming for you.” Those words were spoken by educationalist Heather Hackman (she’s white, by the way) at this weekend’s White Privilege Conference (yes, it’s real, and it’s existed for 17 years now). The Daily Caller was on hand to chronicle the event. Hackman is a former Minnesota’s St. Cloud State University education profes...more »

In Canada we must file our tax returns by April 30. I am meeting my accountant this morning, so blogging will return later this afternoon. Military and Intelligence News Briefs and World News Briefs will be posted at 17:00 EST and 18:00 EST respectively.

*Voice of America*:* NATO, Russian Officials Meet For First Time in Two Years* The NATO-Russia Council has convened for the first time since 2014, with recent tensions between Russia and the United States high on the agenda. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Wednesday's meeting is especially important because of last week's incidents, when the United States accused Russian warplanes of flying within a few meters of a U.S. Navy war ship in the Baltic Sea. Stoltenberg said, "We think dialogue is more important when times are difficult and tensions are high." Ambassadors...more »

*Reuters*: *After big New York wins, Trump and Clinton cast themselves as inevitable* Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton scored sweeping victories in nominating contests in their home state of New York, and immediately cited those wins to argue that they are all but unstoppable as their respective parties' presidential nominees. Trump's crushing defeat of Ted Cruz in Tuesday's primary election tilted the energy in the Republican race back to the front-runner, just as Republican National Committee members begin meeting in Florida on Wednesday to discuss their Jul...more »

As expected and as preordained, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have "won" the closed primary election in New York State. The marathon presidential horse race is now entering its final lap. But even with the long shots now painfully limping up the backstretch as Donald and Hillary stampede toward the finish line, the profiteers of the game are suddenly bellowing "Whoa, Nelly!" Not so fast. The show must go on. If they call the race too soon, the rubes will stop placing their bets. The crowds will dwindle, the cameras and the bookies will disappear. The cable channels will have ...more »

*Camera traps show animals have reclaimed Chernobyl's radioactive wasteland 30 years after the disaster -- and are in good health* *Thus showing as completely wrong the Greenie claim that even tiny amounts of radioactivity are harmful. Chernobyl shows that even quite high levels are not harmful. Radioactivity has been much demonized for political reasons. Radioactive leaks from nuclear power plants will not do harm unless you are very close to them.In other evidence of low harm from radioactivity, Tsutomu Yamaguchi was one of a small number of Japanese to live through bo...more »

After an investigation found evidence of misconduct, a biologist has issued a third retraction. Sudarsanareddy Lokireddy — now a research fellow at Harvard Medical School — “admitted falsification,” a Research Integrity Officer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore told us in December. According to The Scientist, another journal has also published a correction that the authors had requested earlier. […] The post Singapore investigation leads to another retraction, correction for Harvard research fellow appeared first on Retraction Watch.

Recently, the Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu, stated that the occupied Syrian Golan Height is part of Israel. This occupation is violating the UN resolution as well as international law. Since its creation, the US government has supported the Israeli aggression. Few days ago the NYT stated that President Obama’s administration has constantly supported Israel by, more than any other American president, by using its right to veto any resolution at the Security Council, which is against Israel. The rejected resolutions and the Israelis ignoring international law, allowed them to in...more »

Desperate fetus freaks are changing tactics for this year's Futility Fest on the HIll, aka March For Lies. Campaign Life Coalition has paved the way for every organization fighting for the unborn to take part in this year’s National March for Life May 12. “We’ve done something very deliberate this year,” said Campaign Life Ottawa lobbyist Johanne Brownrigg. “We have decided to present a unified voice from the entire pro-life movement as far and wide as we could reach.” Even though Campaign Life, the national political arm of the pro-life movement, remains the sole organizer of t...more »

Woody Guthrie tells the story about the Ludlow Massacre and the violent deaths of 20 people, 11 of them children, during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families in Ludlow, Colorado on April 20, 1914.

So many people think of clothes as just fabric covering our bodies and they are that, but they are so much more. What you wear can change your whole outlook. It is a way to express your self without ever saying a word. I love giving my children the opportunity to speak with their clothes. We LOVE the graphic tees from Cents of Style, here are a few of our favorites. Like a Girl ShirtMy older daughter has always loved playing soccer. A couple seasons ago, she found herself the only girl on a team of boys. She wasn't bothered by this at all, but a little boy on the team made fun of...more »

[image: Navy Secretary Ray Mabus speaks to Marines regarding women in combat during a speech at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base, Tuesday, April 12, 2016, at Camp Pendleton, Calif. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)] As a Marine veteran and close follower of the developments on women's integration into the combat arms, I've noticed that women saying they want to join the infantry do so for all sorts of reasons: to make history, break barriers,...more »

*Bloomberg*: *Rio Warns of Fiscal Collapse as Brazil States Seek Debt Relief* * States ask to pay simple rather than compound interest on debt * Supreme Court will rule on repayment method next week Rio de Janeiro said it’s running out of money to pay for basic services months before the Olympic Games while other Brazilian states warned of similar financial crises if the federal government doesn’t provide debt relief. Six state governors and a representative for Rio de Janeiro said on Tuesday their fiscal woes are forcing them to make cutbacks that could lead to a breakdown of so...more »

[image: flint-water-top - 900] ANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Two state regulators and a Flint employee were charged Wednesday with evidence tampering and several other felony and misdemeanor counts related to the Michigan city’s lead-tainted water crisis. The charges -- the first levied in a...more »

[image: 1Ferguson-Rioting] ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A federal judge approved an agreement Tuesday between Ferguson and the U.S. Justice Department that calls for sweeping changes in the Missouri city where 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer. U.S. District...more »

[image: In this Tuesday, March 15, 2016 photo, a nurse measures preemie Olivia Niedermeyer after the baby underwent an eye exam at Advocate Children's Hospital in Chicago. Twin preemies Olivia and Evelyn Niedermeyer are part of recent research showing benefits from low-tech pain management alternatives during necessary procedures on these fragile babies that are poked and prodded as part of medical care meant to help them survive, but can be painful. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)] OAK LAWN, Ill. (AP) -- It happens every day to the most vulnerable infants in hospital intensive care unit...more »

The data has been crunched and the trend is clear. In the last election, the young showed up in droves to vote. Susan Delacourt writes: That future may have arrived already already — through the 2015 election — according to a new study out right now by Abacus Data and the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. Youth turnout jumped by 12 percentage points between the 2011 and 2015 elections — and the study suggests that it may be time to stop labelling Canada’s young people as politically disengaged and apathetic. The study’s report, titled “The Next Canada,” suggests that Pri...more »

[image: Gender Neutral Bathroom] On Tuesday, the Fourth Circuit Court ruled against a Virginia school district that sought to accommodate a transgender student while also protecting the privacy rights of other students. The court concluded that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 --...more »

[image: President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia's King Salman meet at Erga Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The president begins a six day trip to strategize with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, England and Germany on a broad range of issues with efforts to rein in the Islamic State group being the common denominator in all three stops. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)] RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- President Barack Obama opened a brief trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday with a one-on-one meeting with King Salman in Riyadh. The visit for a Persian Gulf summit comes...more »

Russian tycoon Yuri Milner is putting $100 million into a 10-year quest to find alien life by listening in on the universe with the most sensitive technology available. Stephen Hawking is an adviser & the inspiration behind it, Yuri tells us. The project is only about listening for alien signals not sending out messages as caution dictates. Finding out if we are alone in the universe is a big question for humanity. If life has no back up then the responsibility to cherish our world is even more enormous than we thought and questions of colonisation of the Moon or Mars arise. If we ...more »

Four million people in central Chile were left without drinking water as torrential rain in the Andean foothills, since Friday, triggered landslides into the Maipo and Mapocho rivers. This led to the fouling of the city’s water supply and forced the closure of the world largest underground copper mine, El Teniente. The capital, Santiago was deluged after the Mapocho River overflowed its banks for the first time in 30 years. The violent storms also caused widespread devastation across Uruguay with seven people killed and leaving more than 2,000 homeless. ABC.net reports: A woman was ...more »

A message on a postcard inside a glass bottle thrown into the sea by a Plymouth biologist in 1906 and recovered in Germany has been confirmed by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest message-in-a-bottle. Metro reports: The historic message was sent by George Parker Bidder between 1904 and 1906 – along with a postcard and the promise of a shilling to the finder. It was eventually picked up in April last year by retired post office worker Marianne Winkler who was holidaying on the island of Amrum, off the north coast of Germany. The message inside was sent back to its return ad...more »

Internet technology giant Google warned users on Tuesday that its own website is potentially dangerous. Google’s own Safe Browsing Tool responsible for filtering malicious websites found “google.com” to be “partially dangerous.” Chicago Tribune reports: “Some pages on this website install malware on visitors’ computers,” the Safe Browsing Site Status page warned, adding that “[a]ttackers on this site might try to trick you to download software or steal your information.” Google declined to comment on the site’s status by Tuesday afternoon, but those ominous warnings likely don’t me...more »

Libya is one place the "Islamic State's" sponsors believe Russia can't get them... *April 20, 2016* (Ulson Gunnar - NEO) - In 2011, a NATO coalition led by the United States used its own engineered regional campaign of political destabilization, the "Arab Spring," as a pretext to militarily intervene in first Libya directly, and in a more indirect way, Syria. US and European forces also "quietly" intervened in several other nations, including Mali and the Ivory Coast amid this regional conflagration. *Image: Out of all the explanations for the Islamic State's "move" to Libya, the ...more »

Natalie Wolchover wrote an article Physicists Hunt for the Big Bang’s Triangles that mostly focuses on the ongoing theoretical work attempting to produce predictions of non-Gaussianities in the Cosmic Microwave Radiation – signs of the "very early stages" of the life of the Universe. It's interesting to read such texts because of the exciting science but also because I've known basically all the thinkers who are mentioned there. Wolchover mentions the Juan Maldacena's and Nima Arkani-Hamed's 2015 paper on cosmology (non-Gaussianities determined using the concept of symmetry out of ...more »

Russian ‘Spetsnaz’ special forces commandos have been in Syria since 2014. But what are the deadly forces doing there? Russia Insider explains: Russia reported that a key element in the Syrian conquest of Palmyra in late March 2016 was the presence of Spetsnaz commandos with the Syrian troops. As expected the Spetsnaz served as ground controllers to call in air strikes by Russian bombers and helicopter gunships. Spetsnaz also used their reconnaissance skills to find ISIL positions and call in Syrian troops or an airstrike. In one well publicized incident a Spetsnaz man found himself ...more »

[image: Comforting Hands Quiet Support - 900] It was a honking big needle the nurse held up as my very sick friend pulled up his sleeve. I really, really don't like needles, but I stayed by his chair as the nurse pushed the needle into the underside...more »

Talking of Emily Maitlis... She was interviewing Michael Ignatieff about the Erdogan/German satirist affair, and put what struck me as 'a very BBC point' to the Canadian liberal: *There is a line though, isn't there, between satire and offence? And when you talk to Turkish journalists and they say, 'Actually, this bordered on Islamophobia', it becomes a slightly different question.* Mr. Ignatieff gave an understandable - and properly liberal - response: *Oh come on!! I think satire isn't satire unless it's offensive.* ****** If you were watching BBC Two a lot in the 1980s and '9...more »

Last night's *Newsnight* had two interviews on the EU referendum - one with Jacques Delors's one-time right-hand-man, former EU trade commissioner and director-general of the World Trade Organisation *Pascal Lamy*, the other with former foreign secretary and Leave campaigner *David Owen*. All very balanced, except for two things: (1) From the opening credits to the introduction to her interview with M. Lamy, and then again during her interview with Dr. Owen, Emily Maitlis stressed that this was the former director-general of the World Trade Organisation speaking - a man with years...more »

DELEGATION: U.S. President Obama, with Saudi Arabia's King Salman last year, wants regional allies to take more responsibility for their own security. REUTERS/Jim Bourg *Angus McDowall, Phil Stewart and David Rohde, Reuters*: *Yemen’s guerrilla war tests military ambitions of big-spending Saudis* Riyadh has spent tens of billions on new US weaponry. But its intervention in neighbouring Yemen has not gone smoothly. RIYADH/WASHINGTON – Six years ago, Saudi and American officials agreed on a record $60 billion arms deal. The United States would sell scores of F-15 fighters, Apache at...more »

'... it was revealed ISIS is planning terror attacks across Europe this summer, targeting holidaying tourists by posing as ice cream and T-shirt sellers. German media reports that ISIS is sending jihadists to pretend to sell refreshments before detonating suicide vests and bombs buried under sun loungers at Spanish, French and Italian resorts. ' More here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3547216/ISIS-plan-carry-tourist-massacre-using-bombs-buried-sun-beds-assassins-disguised-beach-ice-cream-sellers-warn-Italian-intelligence-chiefs.html and across Europe but not on the BBC ...more »

*wierd celtic crosspolli-nation-al*Seriously, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? ...aren't they rather westernised i.e. potentially middle-ages, names for the four writers of the New Testament gospels. Four of the twelve founding members of the so-called Twelve Disciples of (the very greek-sounding) 'Iasus' or Jesus. Symbolism which has its origin in the Twelve Tribes (or Brothers) of Israel. The children of the Egypt-fleeing Tuthmoses? Twelve Tribes? Twelve Disciples? The following *British People [British History] video* seems to be suggesting that long before, during and long after t...more »

Welcome to the BubbleBum Summer Travel Essentials Giveaway! Summer is just around the corner and that means that many families will be heading out for some family fun. Whether you're hitting the open road or there's air travel on the horizon and you'll be relying on rental cars or taxi cabs once you get to your destination, BubbleBum wants your kids to remain safe while on your adventures. BubbleBum recently surveyed 500 adults aged 25-55 about child passenger safety and the results were a little surprising. Out of 500 adults surveyed, only 15.9% of them know that car booster seats...more »

Just one word can do it. It can make all the difference between just neutrally reporting what someone said and implying they 'went a bit too far' in what they said: Here's Norman Smith on Monday's The World at One: *The central message the Chancellor wants voters to take from today is that families will be permanently poorer if the UK votes to leave the EU. The 200 page Treasury analysis, says Mr Osborne, proves conclusively that leaving will not just cost families the equivalent of £4300 pounds but will also cost public services £36 billion in lost revenue or a third of the entir...more »

Talking of BBC One's *News at Six*, Laura Kuenssberg's take on Michael Gove's speech ended with her saying that "Mr Gove made the boldest claim yet" when he said, "For Europe, Britain voting to leave will be the beginning of something potentially even more exciting - the democratic liberation of a whole continent". Her parting words were: *Outers crossing their fingers if you vote to leave the whole EU might crumble. Their rivals hope luck...and logic...will end up on their side.* She said this against the backdrop of this Remain poster, showing Outers crossing their fingers:

Monitoring the widely-watched BBC One *News at Six *since the official start of the EU referendum campaign last Friday, one of the things I've been looking out for it see whether the BBC's debunking *Reality Check *feature is being used fairly. So far, it's only been used once - to debunk a Leave claim about the UK losing £350 million a week to the EU. None of the other four bulletins has used it. That means, of course, that George Osborne's bogus 'families will be £4,300 poorer if we leave the EU' claim a couple of days ago *wasn't *debunked during the BBC One *News at Six, *des...more »

Why Isn’t Everyone in Favor of Taxing Financial Speculation? All Online Polls Show What the Corporate Press Will Not Report — Bernie Crushed Hillary in their 9th Debate Voters Blocked All Over New York City New York City Primary Voters Outraged by Broken Machines, Closed Polling Places; Bungled NYC Primary Voting Sparks Board of Elections Probe: 'It's Time We Clean Up This Mess' ‘Days of

There was an interesting edition of *Start the Week *this week on the subject of 'Reporting War and Conflict', some of which focused on Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan. One of the points made was that Erdogan is fighting a particularly 'dirty war' in the south east of his country and that the Western media has been largely ignoring it, despite many atrocities being committed there. Some of these atrocities have been so bad, it was argued, that if they'd happened in Syria they would have been all over the news. And, it was also claimed, this "disgraceful" under-reporting is happ...more »

Wikipedia *Jeremy Bender, Business Insider:* *15 of the most expensive projects abandoned by the US military* The US military is unquestionably the world's strongest force with the world's largest defense budget. But throughout the 2000s, the Pentagon spent $51.2 billion on 15 major programs "without any fielded systems to show for it," according to a new Center for Strategic and International Studies report. The abandoned projects are largely the result of a lack of funding attributed to the Budget Control Act and sequestration. *Read more* .... *WNU Editor*: And this is probab...more »

As we all know the BBC are completely unbiased in their reporting. So what an odd choice of words in this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-36088637 on the New York primaries results. 'Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in New York while Hillary Clinton has triumphed in the Democratic race. ... With almost 95% of the results in, Mr Trump is leading with just over 60% of the vote while Mrs Clinton has just under 58%.' Donald Trump 'won' whilst Hillary Clinton 'triumphed'. An interesting choice of words for an unbiased news reporting organi...more »

*The Telegraph:* *Nato raises 'justified concern' that Isil is plotting nuclear attack on Britain* Isil terrorists are plotting to carry out biological and nuclear attacks on Britain and Europe, EU and Nato security chiefs have warned. There is a “justified concern” that Islamist fanatics in Syria and Iraq are trying to obtain substances of mass destruction such as biological, chemical and radiological weapons. The terror group is also trying to develop new ways of avoiding security measures to carry out attacks such as bombs implanted in human bodies and hacking driverless cars,...more »

With nearly all precincts declared... It appears Hillary Clinton has beaten Bernie Sanders in New York, achieving around 58% and winning by a margin of about 16%, and that Donald Trump has beaten Ted Cruz and John Kasich there, achieving around 60% and winning by a margin of about 20% over his two rival combined. The story is leading the BBC News website at the moment and the language used in its main report is interesting. Despite, it seems, achieving a bigger % of the vote and winning by a great margin, Donald Trump is merely said by the BBC to have "won" and that he "looks set ...more »

The One People Round table Discussion today was the kick off of the 24 hour gathering across the world. With all the talk across the main stream and alternative media of April 19th being a very symbolic and "charged" day, we decided to gather together- online and in physicality- to "hold the space" and the intention of Peace and Transparency. During this weeks show Dani did a special report on the Arch of Triumph that was being unveiled in London on the morning of the 19th. We discussed Time and Shifting realities, the financial fuckery that is currently being seen, the Shangh...more »

*Osprey Guidance * A Marine prepares to guide MV-22 Osprey aircraft before takeoff at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Japan, April 17, 2016. The aircraft will be used to support relief efforts following a devastating earthquake near Kumamoto, Japan. The crews and aircraft are assigned to the Marine Medium Tilitrotor Squadron 265, attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jessica Collins

In a surprising show of censorship, the Huffington Post newspaper has fired one of its journalists and pulled an article he wrote about anti-vaccine film Vaxxed: From Cover-up To Catastrophe. Veteran contributor Lance Simmons wrote a review of the controversial film, drawing attention to the fact that the film offered compelling evidence that vaccines may cause autism. As reported by Truth Barrier website, Simmons felt it important to keep the public informed about the massive government failure to protect the health of its citizens in relation to vaccinations: I saw a premier of V...more »

President Vladimir Putin has endorsed Republican front-runner Donald Trump, saying that he hopes Trump becomes the next U.S. President so that the Saudi Arabia problem can be finally dealt with. Speaking at an annual international forum in Vladivostok, Putin criticised Obama’s foreign policy, saying that Russia will not tolerate Washington’s provocative expansion in the Baltic Sea – warning that Russia is fully prepared to defend itself. The Russian leader heaped praise on Trump, saying that the presidential candidate has a good understanding of the threat of terrorism in the Middl...more »

*Andy Millard battling it out with an increasingly weird Patrick McHenry* *by Tracy B Ann In a perfect world there would be nourinals and it wouldn't matter who usedwhat bathroom.* I would have to go to the bathroom before I left my house to vote though, just in case. I don’t wait in line for bathrooms, I use whatever is available and I don't read “stick figure” too well. If I were to vote I’d have a lot of good choices. May 12th is the deadline to register for voting in the June 7th Congressional Primary. One thing I like about John McNeal, candidate for the 2nd congressional d...more »

*New York Times*: *F.B.I. Tells Panel It Needs Hackers to Keep Up With Tech Companies* WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. defended its hiring of a third-party company to break into an iPhone used by a gunman in last year’s San Bernardino, Calif., mass shooting, telling some skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that it needed to join with partners in the rarefied world of for-profit hackers as technology companies increasingly resist their demands for consumer information. Amy Hess, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s executive assistant director for science and technology, made the comments at a...more »

The manager for the band Metallica has told a BBC Radio 4 documentary that he thinks YouTube has essentially killed the music industry. Peter Mensch, manager of groups such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and Muse referred to YouTube as “the devil”, complaining that the site’s business model ensures that people working in the industry do not get paid. BBC News reports: He said the site’s business model, in which artists make money by placing ads around their music, was unsustainable. “If someone doesn’t do something about YouTube, we’re screwed,” he said. “It’s over. Someone...more »

[image: Relatives mourn around the coffin of Kexly Valentino who died in the earthquake, in Montecristi, Ecuador, Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador in decades flattened buildings and buckled highways along its Pacific coast, sending the Andean nation into a state of emergency. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)] MONTECRISTI, Ecuador (AP) -- A fresh tremor rattled Ecuador before dawn Wednesday morning, a 6.1 magnitude jolt that was the strongest aftershock since a lethal earthquake killed hundreds of people. There was no immediate report of further damage. The U.S....more »

"A gorgeous spiral galaxy some 100 million light-years distant, NGC 1309 lies on the banks of the constellation of the River (Eridanus). NGC 1309 spans about 30,000 light-years, making it about one third the size of our larger Milky Way galaxy. Bluish clusters of young stars and dust lanes are seen to trace out NGC 1309's spiral arms as they wind around an older yellowish star population at its core. *Click image for larger size.* Not just another pretty face-on spiral galaxy, observations of NGC 1309's recent supernova and Cepheid variable stars contribute to the calibration of the...more »

*“The Incredible Potential of Unexpectedness”* by Chet Raymo “The Jesuit scientist/mystic Teilhard de Chardin imagined what he called a "noosphere" (from the Greek word for "mind") as the next stage of terrestrial evolution- an envelope of pure human thought embracing the planet. This would be the inevitable result of human progress on a spherical Earth of finite surface area. We rub up against each other. We are stimulated by proximity. Railroads and airplanes extend the range of our interaction. Better still (he wrote), "thanks to the prodigious biological event represented by t...more »

*"The Hound In The Kennel"* by John James "In my experience most of us take whatever frightens us or makes us uncomfortable and push it out of sight. This puts it into the unconscious. It does not disappear, but just lies in waiting like a faithful hound until let out. Meanwhile the conscious part can go on living as if nothing had happened. But as Carl Jung pointed out so perspicaciously, the hound keeps howling from the depth and thereby influences all that we do. So we can’t go on as before. We may try to carry on as always, but in truth everything we do is influenced by the un...more »

*"Eagle Poem" * "To pray you open your whole self To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon To one whole voice that is you. And know there is more That you can't see, can't hear Can't know except in moments Steadily growing, and in languages That aren't always sound but other Circles of motion. Like eagle that Sunday morning Over Salt River. Circles in blue sky In wind, swept our hearts clean With sacred wings. We see you, see ourselves and know That we must take the utmost care And kindness in all things. Breathe in, knowing we are made of All this, and breathe, knowing We are truly blessed bec...more »

Yesterday I recorded a special TN report during The One People Show about the replica of Arch of Triumph from Palmyra Syria that was unveiled in London UK. VERY interesting stuff my friends!! The Arch of Ba'al, the Arch of Triumph, the history of "Triumphant" arches, Janus the god of all gods and the god of time, portals, arches, beginnings & endings, Lucifer, and just who was Jesus anyway? Yea.... VERY interesting stuff!! ... And then this morning.... I had a chance to look at the new coverage of the Unveiling of the "Arch of Triumph" in London, and yea.... I was seriously un...more »

*FOX News*: *Cuba officials call Obama's visit an ‘attack,’ Raul Castro labels U.S. as 'enemy'* Weeks after President Barack Obama’s historic trip to Cuba, officials from the Communist island have ramped up their attacks on the U.S. On Monday, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called Obama's visit "an attack on the foundation of our history, our culture and our symbols." "Obama came here to dazzle the non-state sector, as if he wasn't the representative of big corporations but the defender of hot dog vendors, of small businesses in the United States, which he isn't," Rodriguez said...more »

“That there is a Devil, is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influences of the Devil.” - Cotton Mather, *On Witchcraft* I'm trying my luck with a superhero campaign right now, something I've really wanted to do for ages. We've seen the evolution of Port Henry as a place for adventure and over the next few months we'll see how good a place it really is for adventure. While I'm not actively planning another game (I'm just starting this one folks), currently being in the Historic Triangle of Virginia (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown) reminded me of another g...more »

[image: Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton cheer at her New York primary campaign headquarters, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in New York.] NEW YORK (AP) -- The Latest on campaign 2016 as voters in New York cast their ballots in the state’s primary (all times Eastern Daylight Time): 12:05 a.m. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is picking up a majority of New...more »

[image: In this Jan. 28, 2016 file photo, passengers who exited a San Francisco MUNI streetcar walk past an outdoor urinal across from Dolores Park in San Francisco. A religious organization is suing the city of San Francisco to remove the open-air urinal that it calls unsanitary and offensive to the senses. The San Francisco Chinese Christian Union filed a civil complaint on Thursday, April 14, 2016, demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from the iconic Dolores Park.] SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A religious organization sued the city of San Francisco to remove an open-air...more »

“We are, perhaps, uniquely among the earth's creatures, the worrying animal. We worry away our lives, fearing the future, discontent with the present, unable to take in the idea of dying, unable to sit still.” - Lewis Thomas

[image: Fidel Castro is applauded by his brother, Cuba's President Raul Castro, right, and the second secretary of the Central Committee, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, left, during the closing ceremonies for the 7th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Fidel Castro formally stepped down in 2008 after suffering gastrointestinal ailments and public appearances have been increasingly unusual in recent years.] HAVANA (AP) -- Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro delivered a valedictory speech Tuesday to the Communist Party that he put in power a...more »

"Stop being so greedy, and so selfish. Realize that there is more to the world than your big houses and fancy stores. People are starving and you worry about oil for your cars. Babies are dying of thirst and you search the fashion pages for the latest styles. Nations like ours are drowning in poverty, but your people don't even hear our cries for help. You shut your ears to the voices of those who try to tell you these things. You label them radicals or Communists. You must open your hearts to the poor and downtrodden, instead of driving them further into poverty and servitude. Ther...more »

Tom Harris, the Executive Director of the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) has placed the following Advertisement in the Washington Examiner this week. It applies equally to Australia where the loony left want to cover the country with Wind Turbines.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes as he arrives to inspect a military drill at an unknown location, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 25, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA *Reuters*: *North Korea's Jong Un more aggressive than father: U.S. general* North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un appears more "risk-tolerant, arrogant and impulsive" than his father as he forges ahead with military programs that have left even China - Pyongyang's top ally - feeling frustrated, a top U.S. general said on Tuesday. Army General Vincent Brooks, who is Pres...more »

*There oughta be a law... oh, there are several* Last week we looked at how the Airline industry-- through their trade association-- chipped in to buy Pennsylvania Republican Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee a sexual relationship with a lady lobbyist. Over the weekend, that was one of the main topics in a rancorous GOP primary debate between the embattled Shuster and teabagger Art Halvorson. Keep in mind that Shuster expects voters to believe that although he admits he has sex with airline lobbyist Shelley Rubino, she doesn't lobby him ...more »

*"A Look at the Presidential Candidates’ Tax Returns"* by Emma Niles "Monday was the deadline for filing federal tax returns. The presidential candidates are also making tax-related headlines, as four of the five have already released their 2014 tax returns to the public. The takeaways? Bernie Sanders (who has made headlines for his low income compared to the rest of the 2016 candidates) pays the least, thanks to significant deductions. The Clintons, on the other hand, pay a 35.7 percent tax rate (compared to the average national rate of 14.7 percent). Yahoo Finance reports: *Clic...more »

"It's natural. Nature is dark and light, birth and death. Everything and its opposite. And in nature there are predators and prey. The hunters and the hunted. The heartbreakers and the heartbroken. The beautiful thing is that Nature lets us choose which we want to be. Most people never make the choice though because they don't even know they have it." - Lynn Weingarten "Lions are born knowing they are predators. Antelopes understand they are the prey. Humans are one of the few creatures on Earth given the choice." - Patrick H.T. Doyle "The leopard in the zoo wanders to the edge of ...more »

Voters have described scenes of complete chaos during Tuesday’s New York primaries, as people say they are being turned away from polling stations, and have reported seeing broken machines not allowing them to cast their vote. In Brooklyn residents at PS 73 in Bushwick reported that despite waiting in line since 6 a.m. in the morning, workers told them that they couldn’t access the keys to the facility and so wouldn’t be able to vote. “You can’t vote nor cast any type of ballot. They (the keys to the building) are in a locked box and no one has the key,” voter Torsha Childs wrote o...more »

President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Norman Manley International Airport prior to departure from Kingston, Jamaica en route to Panama City, Panama, April 9, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) *Michael Crowley, Politico*: *Obama's big damage-control tour* *Visiting three major allies, the president is likely to face as many jeers as cheers.* President Barack Obama will drop in on three of America’s most important allies this week, possibly for the last time. But he isn’t expecting an adoring reception in any of them. The U.S. relationship with all three nati...more »

“Racist ideas are formed by an overall attitude of collectivism, that group identity matters more than individual identity, action and choice. … Among other things, a racist thinks the way he or she does because of an erroneous assumption that you can determine a person’s character [not by their individual actions or choices but] by the colour of their skin or racial ancestry. Unchosen genetic characteristics have nothing to do with individual character, and therein lies the error of racial prejudice… “The only way to convince a racist to stop being racist is to promote indi...more »

Over the last 2-days we have been hit by dozens of earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater, and scientists have warned that the unusual number of earthquakes is a warning of something catastrophic about to occur in Japan. On Saturday Japan’s southern island of Kyushu was hit by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, and then on Saturday night a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off Ecuador’s Pacific coast. As the world is focussed on the most recent and largest quake in Ecuador, scientists have warned that what has happened and continues to happen in Japan is far more dangerous. Theeconomiccoll...more »

Arziona’s Secretary of State, Michele Reagan, has confirmed that election fraud took place during the Arizona primaries on March 22. During explosive testimony given at the Arizona state capitol in Phoenix, Reagan confirmed that election fraud had indeed taken place when asked about the deliberate tampering of voter registrations before the primary election took place. USuncut.com reports: Thousands of voters were given provisional ballots, which aren’t actually counted, due to their party registration mysteriously showing up in the system as “independent” or “no party declared.” R...more »

North Korea have reached out to the West and asked them for help in preventing a potentially cataclysmic volcanic eruption from occurring, after one of world’s most dangerous volcano’s began rumbling again recently. Mount Paektu, a 9,000 foot volcano on the border between China and North Korea, last erupted in 946 AD – causing one of the world’s largest eruptions in the last 2,000 years. According to a 2010 study, that same volcano is about to blow again, which is capable of “rapidly producing catastrophic, explosive eruptions in the foreseeable future.” Vice reports: Those rumbles...more »

A group of authors claim they have evidence that proves ISIS were created by NATO and then handed over to be militarily led by Turkey, in order to destabilize the Middle East and allow Western leaders to dominate the region. According to investigative journalist Wayne Madsen, ISIS began as a rebel group under the US occupation of Iraq which then grew as they ravaged Libya and Syria. Saudi Arabia and Turkey funded the group so they could fulfil the orders coming from the US to fight proxy wars, in order to acquire oil, gas, and land for the West. According to the Amazon book descript...more »

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has called on Eurasian countries to join forces and unite against “western terrorism” which he says is a deliberate ploy to create instability in the Middle East. Speaking at the Eurasia parliamentary meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, Larijani said, “If we have strong solidarity, we can stand against the West’s unfair behaviors“. Farsnews.com reports: He also referred to the US attempts to foment insecurity and crisis in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, and said, “The US has created the problem of terrorism.” Noting that the US uses terrorism as an ...more »

Scientists have announced that commonly used cold and flu medications, purchased over-the-counter, may cause memory loss, a decline in IQ and a shrinking of the brain. According to a new study, popular medications used to treat colds, flu, hay fever, allergies, and heartburn all contain anti-cholinergic drugs – which can negatively alter the brain in the person taking them, with effects lasting up to a month after being used. Medications such as Zantac, Night Nurse and Nytol are among a huge list of drugs that may result in adverse reactions. Dailymail.co.uk reports: The drugs bloc...more »

Today is Equal Pay Day in Ontario. Why? It's the day that, if you're a woman, your earnings have finally caught up with what men were paid *the previous year*. Women doing the same or equivalent work still earn, on average, 30% less than their male counterparts. The higher up the food chain a woman works, the greater the gap in pay. Ontario’s highest paid women earn an average of 37% less than the highest paid men, translating into a whopping $64,000 less in annual average earnings. “Over the course of a working lifetime, these pay gaps can grow into a mountain of lost earnings,” ...more »

*Sami Tousafzai, Daily Beast*:* In Kabul, the Taliban Don’t Care Who They Kill* The Taliban were anxious to strike in the Afghan capital, and the bomb went off near the Defense Ministry—but much nearer a taxi stand. Maryam Jan’s voice was shaking almost uncontrollably as we spoke on the phone. The truck bomb that hit the center of Kabul, the Afghan capital, on Tuesday morning was “huge, very huge,” said the 27-year-old journalist. “I haven’t seen and felt such a huge blast in my whole life in Kabul,” she said. “I was near the spot with my 4-year-old daughter and she turned mute f...more »

Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral, who accused the parents of Madeleine McCann of lying about the kidnapping of their daughter, has won his appeal against a libel suit brought against him by Kate and Jerry McCann. The former police chief had been ordered to pay Madeleine’s parents €500,000 in April last year after they successfully sued him for libel after he claimed they had faked their daughter’s abduction. However, a new 16-page judgement has overturned the original decision, saying that his claims that they faked their daughters abduction is not a lie. Dailymail.co.uk reports: ...more »

President Barack Obama has sided with Saudi Arabia over the families of 9/11 victims. In an interview with CBS This Morning president Obama condemned legislation that would have allowed family members of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to hold the Saudi ruling family accountable in U.S. courts. Sputnik reports: On Tuesday, President Obama took to the morning cable news circuit to reiterate his vow to veto legislation allowing victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack to sue Saudi Arabia, arguing that it would expose the United States to similar lawsuits. “If we op...more »

[image: Little Sisters - 900] A new Marist Poll found that the majority of Americans -- by a 20-point margin -- believe that the Obama administration has been unfair in its treatment of the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious employers who object...more »

The Master Shift If you click on link above, or *HERE*, you'll be led to a soundcloud page of a recording with the name of this posting. It was received on April 15th, 2016. I apologize in advance for the imperfect quality of the recording, but the message is a beautiful and powerful one and meant to be shared and experienced. Please enjoy! With so much love, ~Sophia PS Sign up for my newsletter here.

[image: Whole Food Market's flagship store at their World Headquarters in Austin, Tx.] Whole Foods Market has issued a very strong response to a lawsuit alleging an employee decorated a cake with an anti-gay slur, saying it has proof the claim is a hoax and that it will file a counter-suit. Pastor Jordan...more »

[image: Ben & Jerry's, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Bernie Sanders Supporters] The co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream were arrested Monday at the U.S. Capitol as part of the Democracy Awakening rally, a protest against big money in politics and other liberal causes. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were arrested...more »

[image: NATO Gen Sec - 900] A NATO official's answer to Russia's recent harassment of U.S. ships and aircraft is more "political dialogue," according to statements just one day before NATO and Russia are set to meet for the first time in two years. Representatives from NATO...more »

[image: Gold King Mine - 900] Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy won't be attending an Arizona field hearing on Earth Day about how the agency-caused mine blowout harmed Navajo tribal members living along the San Juan River. McCarthy told senators Tuesday she won't be attending...more »

[image: An example of one of dozens of fiberglass donkeys that will be positioned around the city ahead of the Democratic National Convention is shown, Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Philadelphia. Fifty-seven of the painted donkeys, representing each U.S. state, territory, Washington, D.C., and Democrats Abroad will be displayed from July 1 to Sept. 5 throughout Center City, where most convention events outside the Wells Fargo Center are to take place. Local artists will paint them with iconic images from each location.] PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Donkeys will be dispatched around the city th...more »

*Reuters:* *Syrian talks appear doomed as air strike kills dozens in market* Syrian peace talks appeared all but doomed on Tuesday after air strikes killed about 40 people in a crowded vegetable market in rebel territory, with the opposition saying a truce was finished and it would keep out of negotiations indefinitely. A monitoring group said it believed the strike on the market in Maarat al-Numan in Idlib province was the deadliest single attack since a partial ceasefire took effect on Feb. 27. The main opposition HNC described the attack as a "dangerous escalation" which reinf...more »

[image: UnitedHealth Group - 900] America's largest health insurer UnitedHealth Group said Tuesday it plans to pull out of the majority of Obamacare exchanges after taking a financial hit under the Affordable Care Act. The health care giant warned in November it was re-evaluating its participation in the...more »

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I've been 'around' for a few years now, pursuing the shifting goal of a sharable home-made surfers resource site focused on ease of use and variety of mostly adult ( whoa : I didn't say prurient ) content.